sharpness and contrast.BUILD QUALITY.value

too much contrast at times-and that's being picky

Very nice lens.Definitely as sharp as the nikon people would have you believe,but by no means the sharpest lens made.Has the interesting effect of having so much contrast that shaddowed areas of the frame can be totally blacked out while the highlights are overexposed where other lenses would show detail in both.Utterly georgeous feel-focus aperture ring and paintwork!!!

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EF100mm macro,FD 100/2.8 and loads of other lenses close to this focal length

Sharp and contrasty at all apertures, Great performance at low cost

None

The performance of the 105mm F2.5 lens is something that in my opinion every Nikon owner should experience. The ability to deliver sharp and contrasty images at every distance from one meter to infinity at all apertures is absolutly astounding.All this and a low price to boot.

Customer Service

Not with this product but my experience with B&H was top rate.

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105mm F3.5 Canon

perfect color correction, outstanding consistancy at all focal lenghts, no light fall off.

none.

I own a complete Canon eos sytem for autofocus and a Nikon manual focus ais system for landscapes, and if this were a Canon lens, they would call it an L-series and charge $1,400 for it, its that good.

Customer Service

GOT NEW REAR ELEMENT FOR THE 105, THEY WERE NICE.

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Canon sf 135(not as sharp) vivitar 100mm af macro. 11 canon zooms. Nikon 28 f3.5ai(excellent) Nikon 50 f1.8(excellent)Vivitar 70-210f3.5AI s1(good zoom)

All stops simply oustanding. Light but solid as a rock.

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One word "legend". The ultimate lense. Must have in your camera bag. Thanks...Nikon.

Customer Service

None

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Nikkor 24mm f2 AIS Nikkor 80-200mm f4 AIS Nikkor 50mm f1.2 AIS

very very sharp light and very cheap "if u buy a second hand one"

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In short this is the best 35 mm lens I ever seen I compared photo taken by this lens with others taken by my Hasselblad its realy hard to find the defrenses

Customer Service

not needed

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many lenses from Nikon Canon and CarlZiss

Size, weight, contrast, color rendition, ease of handling - those magic images from my lab! THE ULTIMATE MAGIC BULLETT!

NONE

I used to own this lens 15 years ago whn I was still shooting manual focus. Back then it used to be my favorite lenses. 2 page spread, 14 X 17 - no problem. In fact some of the images with this lens are still in my book (portfolio) today. Well, autofocus took over and I switched. Got an 85/1,4D, 105/2.8D- even a Leica M 800/2.8 , 90mm/2.0, 75mm/1.4. Been there, done that. Somehow I ended up with another one of the 105/2.5 AIS. After almost 17 years of shooting with this lens all I can say is this- IT IS A MAGIC BULLET! The compactness, ease of focussing, color rendition, contrast, light weight, make this a one of a kind gem. This lens is known to be one of Nikon all time best if the best portrait lens they have ever made! Definitely a keeper. For those who complain about the SLOOOW speed of f/2.5= GET A LIFE, (your images won''''t look that much better with a 1.4 anyway), what,...can''''t handhold a f2.5 steady at a 1/15th- switch to Canon!

Customer Service

for what?

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85/1.4D, 105/2.8D, Summilux 75mm/1.4/Elmarit 90mm/2.8, Summicron 90mm/2.0

Superb color, sharpness and contrast at all apertures, fast (enough) aperture, compact and fits easily in your pocket if you''re travelling light, built-in shade. Surable all metal lens barrell anbd aperture ring (no plastic!)

none

Extremely high quality, compact, medium speed, short telephoto lens. I prefer this lens over the 85mm f1.4 becuase it''s lighter, more compact and f2.5 is generally more than adequate for most situations.

Customer Service

none

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Nikkor 85mm f1.4, Leitz Elmarit 90mm f2.8

Typical build of the AIS lenses beats most of the auto-focus line in this price range. Small, light and handy. One of the most versatile focal lengths. Portraits are obvious, but I like to use this to optically extract slices out of landscapes and cityscapes. The wide-open performance has just the right amount of softness to flatter most people with less than perfect complexions, but close down two stops and you can see every pore and blemish in cruel detail. Bokeh is very nice. Even many of my Leica Snob friends admit that Nikon got this lens right.

I Honestly can''t think of anything that would improve this lens.

I truly feel sorry for people that are married to slow zooms and never thought that a manual focus lens could give them any advantages. I have converted several Nikon AF users by just loaning them my lens for a couple of rolls of film. With this 105mm and a 35mm, you can concur the world.

Customer Service

N/A

Similar Products Used:

All vintages and speeds of Nikkor 85mm, 105mm and 135mm lenses. Leica 90mm f/2.8 and f/2.0 M lenses

Sharpness. Smooth focusing ring. Beautiful colors. Nice bokeh. Inexpensive for what you get.

None.

I''ve been using a used older version AI for over three years, and after having used almost every "fast" Nikkor prime or zoom within this focal range, I can tell you it''s the best lense I''ve ever owned. It is extremely sharp wide open to F4.0 where most of my photography is done. It has a nice heft which steadies easily on all of my bodies (manual and autofocus). It''s focusing ring feels plush to turn, and I know precisely when it is in focus -- and it holds -- something which drives me nuts on so many auto focus Nikkors. I''ve done enlargement tests against a 35-70mm 2.8, 50mm 1.4, and 85mm 1.8, and the 105 2.5 is sharper. It''s bokeh is beautiful and produces a slightly warm cast to its colors I love. What can I say, simply one of the best lenses ever made by any manufacturer.

Customer Service

You must kidding.

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28mm 2.8 AIS, 35-70mm 2.8, 50mm 1.4 and 1.8, 85mm 1.8, 60mm 2.8 macro, 80-200mm 4.5 and 4.0.

Compact enough that many candid subjects don''t suspect--sneakily small. Fast enough to work well with better new fast films. Much lighter than something like an 85/1.4, and less likely to draw attention than the cannon-like 85/1.4. At about $330 imported from B&H, this would make a good second lens for anyone interested in photographing people.

Given its portrait reputation it might not find a place on the camera at regular moments. Not fast enough to be perfect.

I''ve been delighted by the number of excellent photographs of people that I''ve produced with this lens, and with the ratio of keepers to discards. In a recent cull of all my Nikon photographs, many of the surviving family photographs were taken through this lens.

Customer Service

No experience with defective equipment. B&H customer service to this satisfied customer has been first rate.

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AF 85 mm 1.4. The 105/2.5 is much more discreet if the light is available. It''s an easy light telephoto to bring along without worrying about weight.